“In terms of expensive car parking it really is cutting off the nose to spite the face, because the more you get in to the town centre, the more prosperous it becomes, the better it is and the more people feel that it’s like home,” Mr Pickles said.

“I know from personal experience that it does make a difference. If we are to make a difference to town centres, particularly if we are to protect our small shops, then [free parking for 30 minutes] is exactly the kind of measure that needs to be introduced.

“Those councils that don’t are failing in their duty.”

Mr Pickles said that the Tory council in his constituency, Brentwood and Ongar, has started offering free short-stay parking near high streets.

“When they introduced half-an-hour free parking throughout the borough it made an enormous difference,” Mr Pickles added.

Sources close to the Communities Secretary said that he is calling on councils across the country to start offering free parking.

The Government would not be able to legislate to force town halls to offer free parking near high streets.

Mr Pickles has previously warned that many people are now likely to do their shopping online because of parking charges and fines in town centres.

He has warned that parking charges have become “ridiculously high” and that drivers are being used as “cash cows” by local authorities.

The Daily Telegraph is running a Reinventing the High Street campaign to put the heart back into the high street.

Councillor Tony Ball, vice-chairman of the Local Government Association’s economy and Transport Board, said: “Councils are working with local businesses to boost trade and keep areas vibrant through parking incentives such as free-short stay. This may work in some areas to ensure a high turnover of shoppers but would cause gridlock and chaos in others that suffer from congestion and road safety problems.”

He added: “Regulating parking in these areas is essential to keep traffic flowing, pedestrians and motorists safe, roads clear for emergency services, and to ensure people can park near their homes or local shops.”